Mentorship programs are among the most reliable company tools for fostering long-term employee retention. Despite this, results from The Uptime Institute Data Center Staffing and Recruitment Survey 2024 showed that increasing numbers of organizations have no formal mentorship programs in place. This has had little impact, however, on the number of successfully recruited new employees (see Are data center workforce initiatives effective?).

Instead of scaling back mentorship programs, employers in the data center industry should explore strategies to improve their impact and effectiveness in terms of retaining these new employees. This report outlines research results illustrating the positive impact of mentorship programs on new staff and offers practical recommendations for enhancing these programs in data centers.

Mentorship programs play a critical role in boosting employee retention, particularly in the early phases of their careers when they are most likely to consider changing companies. The Uptime Institute Data Center Staffing and Recruitment Survey 2024 found that staff are most likely to leave their organization between the first and second year of tenure (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Employees most likely to leave between year one and two

Broader research on staff in the IT field supports these findings. Researchers from Florida State University and Middle Tennessee State University analyzed 139 studies comparing turnover intentions between IT and non-IT professionals (Are IT professionals unique? A second-order meta-analytic comparison of turnover intentions across occupations). They found that as tenure increases, turnover intent decreases. This effect is significantly stronger in IT professionals than it is for those working outside the IT sector.

This data suggests that the longer a data center employee remains in their role, the less likely they are to switch companies. Uptime’s survey data reinforces this finding: operators report that staff are progressively less likely to leave once their tenure extends beyond two years.

Mentorship programs improve employee attitudes toward their work environment, which results in a longer tenure. A University of Georgia analysis of 116 studies on mentorship found that mentored employees had significantly higher job satisfaction and were more supportive of colleagues. These programs also boosted employee engagement and reduced the level of employees leaving their organization.

Best practice mentorship strategies

Effective mentorship can significantly enhance job satisfaction. However, research shows that poorly planned mentorship can significantly reduce employee satisfaction in the long term. For example, employees who lack reliable mentor support, particularly for networking opportunities within the company, may develop feelings of isolation. To mitigate these risks, researchers from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations recommend the following best practice strategies:

• Select mentors with seniority. While it may seem intuitive to place a mentee alongside someone with similar job duties, a mentor with higher seniority is associated with better outcomes and more mentee retention.
• Base mentor-mentee pairings on shared traits. It is increasingly common for large companies to assess candidates’ personalities using various psychological scales. Mentors and mentees are most successful when both parties score similarly on “conscientiousness” and “openness to experience.”
• Involve direct supervisors in the onboarding and mentorship process. This comprehensive approach helps to dissolve silos between HR onboarding and the job training itself, easing transition between phases of job progression.

Key learnings

To retain staff, data center managers need to continually re-evaluate their mentorship strategies in line with emerging research. Simply running mentorship programs alone is not enough — mentorships need to be fine-tuned to positively influence employee retention.

Without research-backed strategies team leaders are forced to rely on trial and error to determine effective practices, often at the expense of potential talent. An informed approach can save time and resources.

This is particularly critical as data center companies compete over a limited talent pool. The data center industry is expanding rapidly, but the supply of skilled workers is not keeping pace. With a broad range of job opportunities available, many workers feel empowered to leave — rather than endure — the stressors of their current job. Specific issues, such as a lack of support, dissatisfaction with job responsibilities, and a perceived lack of upward mobility may push data center workers to seek other employment opportunities. Effective mentorships go beyond the transfer of information — they provide a psychological buffer against these job stressors.